IntroductionSkipping jumping rope is what we did as kids for fun. However, they are still great for us as adults to do today. Here are three reasons why they are still not only effective and great exercises, but also fun!

If you play a winter sport like hockey or football...any sport where you have much of the summer off...you know that after taking a few weeks off at season's end, it's time to start thinking about some sort of off-season training to prepare your body for the new season. If you have kids, you may even consider sending them to sports camps. They are great, no question, but they can be very expensive and often time comsuming.

Traditional training Vs. Integrated training.Most people are very familiar with traditional training…you know, go to the gym, lift some weights, maybe hop on the treadmill while watching the over-head TV. That certainly can work and we for sure have come a long way from the 1940’s where we were introduced to those vibrating belt machines women wore around their waist to giggle the “goo” off their belly. While traditional training works it is soooo one dimentional.

So...if you're involved in youth hockey at all, you know that the season is coming to an end. If your the type of player that is always trying to improve your game then try my recommendations for increasing skating speed.Skating speed is a product of a couple things…skate stride and skate frequency. So, the longer your stride and the more strides you take, the faster you will be. Stride length can be improved in a couple ways. Using proper body mechanics in your skating and increasing the force with which you push off.

Do you have a young goalie in your life? As the youth hockey season winds down it will be time to hang up the skates for another season. Ahhh…the BBQ’s, the swimming, the family camping trips, sleeping in, hockey training. WHAT?? Did I just say hockey training? In the off-season? Well, yes I did. If your little athlete plays at a high level such as rep hockey or has aspirations of playing in the pro or semi-pro leagues then some type of summer off-ice training is a good thing.

We all want to improve our speed and strength – plyometric exercises can be very handy here! Do not start any of these without making sure your GP is OK with it and without a few months of strength and aerobic training. Plyometrics tend to become intensive very quickly and, due to their explosive nature, it is easy to get injured.

One of the most common excuses people make for not exercising is a lack of time. We’re busier today than ever before thanks to our occupational, our familial and our social obligations. Unfortunately, we’re also more inactive than ever before.

Today we had the first actual RL52 Cycling sports specific session at Launch Sport Performance in Rockville, MD - Pre-Season Football Cycle! It was amazing to actually see football players on the bike in the cycling studio going through the sports specific sets, mimicing actual on-the-field work on the bike and listening to their feedback and reaction to this type of training. Oh yeah and the bike moves from side to side - its not just your ordinary bike...but an amazing cross-training tool.